The elephant wasn’t in the room but you sensed his presence all night long anyway.

No, guitarist/singer/producer Lindsey Buckingham got kicked out of Fleetwood Mac this year, but it was obvious who was getting under Stevie Nicks’ skin when she came out of her trippy, enigmatic dance during “Gold Dust Woman” Monday night at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

She approached the microphone again, tugged tightly at her spangly gold shawl and started purging in song from deep inside her psyche: “You can’t save me now. You did this to me. You can’t fix me. You can’t fake me out. You can’t save me. You can’t blame me. You can’t change me. You can’t do it.”

Talk about shattering your illusions of Fleetwood Mac.

Fleetwood Mac without Lindsey Buckingham is sort of like the Twins without Joe Mauer. He’s been there forever, right? The band, like the baseball team and Mauer, existed before Buckingham joined in 1975 and still carries on without him.

In their 10th show since booting Buckingham, Fleetwood Mac took a while to find its footing. Oddly enough, it was a cover that sparked Nicks and the rest of the band. Neil Finn, who along with Mike Campbell has replaced Buckingham, was reprising his hit from Split Enz, “I Got You,” and Nicks was relishing vocalizing as if she was in her Los Angeles mansion singing along to MTV in 1982.

Then it was time for “Rhiannon,” perhaps the Steviest of Nicks songs, and she became Stevie Nicks, all bewitching mystery, dangling scarves, shiny beads and mesmerizing vocals. Her voice was clear, she seemed focused and, for a rarity in Fleetwood Mac, relaxed. Refreshed, too.

Nicks and the band — the veterans range in age from 70 to 75 — seemed revitalized by the addition of Finn and Campbell of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, who represent guitarists No. 11 and 12 in Fleetwood Mac’s long history. (No, the unofficial record for replacements in one band is held by Spinal Tap’s drum seat. Google it.)

The new players helped to open up the Big Mac catalog, which, of course, dates back to the band’s beginning in 1967 in England. That gave Campbell, 68, an underappreciated guitarist in his Petty days, an opportunity to exercise his blues vocabulary, painting “Black Magic Woman” with a heavier brush than Carlos Santana used on his famous cover version and turning “Oh Well” into something swell if you welcome a Led Zeppelin feel.

The crowd of nearly 14,000 was thrilled to hear Campbell’s signature work on Petty’s “Free Fallin,” which featured the liberating lead vocals of Nicks, the world’s biggest Petty fan. New Zealand’s Finn, 60, who has a Paul McCartney vibe about him, did a lovely understated reading of “Don’t Dream It’s Over,” the 1986 hit by his other band, Crowded House. With his assertive tenor, he was a good surrogate for Buckingham’s vocals on such Mac favorites as “Second Hand News” and “Go Your Own Way.”

His acoustic guitar was all the reassurance Nicks needed to turn “Landslide” — her reflections about the fear of moving on from a relationship because, as she sings, she’d built her life around him — into one of the highlights of the 140-minute concert. As she has often done in the Twin Cities, she dedicated the song to her “one and only husband,” Kim Anderson, who was in attendance with his girlfriend of 30 years. “Minneapolis, St. Paul — quite a place in my heart forever,” she proclaimed as the fans cheered loud and long.

Always a crowd favorite, this tune seemed to have new resonance on this night. It was so obvious that she’s moved on from the elephant in the room.

2 comments:

Anonymous
said...

From the concert videos I have seen, they all appear to be having more fun then in years. Cannot say I missed Buckingham at all, in fact it was a great show with new energy. If this is the Fleetwood Mac page, why is Buckingham still on it?

FLEETWOOD MAC NEWS ON FACEBOOK

In April, 2013 New York Times Author Anthony Bozza began working with legendary drummer Mick Fleetwood on his life story, which will span the entire history of the band that bears his name.

In this candid, intimate portrait of a life lived in music, Mick Fleetwood sheds new light on well-known points in his history, including many incredible moments of recording and touring with Fleetwood Mac, as well as personal insights from a man who has been a major player in blues and rock 'n' roll since his teens.

The group Fleetwood Mac has sold over 140 million records worldwide, and they continue to attract a huge following, selling out their biggest arena tour ever in 2013, decades after their debut. Finally, the group's admirers will have a unique portrait of what made Mick and the rest of the group tick in the midst of their massive success and personal trials.

Stevie Nicks made history in March when the beloved singer-songwriter became the first female artist inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice - first as a member of Fleetwood Mac in 1998, and this year for an extraordinary solo career that spans nearly 40 years.

To honor Nicks' groundbreaking achievement, Rhino has assembled a variety of new releases that celebrate her solo career with essential recordings chosen from studio albums, live performances, and soundtrack contributions, plus several of her most-celebrated collaborations with artists including Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Don Henley, Lana Del Rey, and Lady Antebellum.

STAND BACK is available On 3-CD, 1-CD, 6-LP Vinyl, And Digital Versions.

Fleetwood Mac celebrates half century of music with a new 50-song collection that is the first to explore the group's entire career, from its early days playing the blues, to its global success as one of the most-enduring and best-selling bands in rock history. 50 YEARS-DON'T STOP is available as a 50-track, 3-CD set, a 5-LP vinyl set and a 20-track single CD version. Also available on all digital download and streaming services as well.

The new compilation touches on every era in the band's rich history and offers a deep dive into Fleetwood Mac's expansive catalog by bringing together essential tracks released between 1968 and 2013.

Solo Anthology: The Best of Lindsey Buckingham is a comprehensive record of his illustrious career. Out October 5th on Rhino Records, Buckingham’s Solo Anthology will be released as a 3-disc set on CD and digitally and will also be available as a single disc abridged release. A 6-LP vinyl release is slated for November 30th.

Similar to last year's Record Store Day where Fleetwood Mac released the alternate "Mirage" album by taking the previously issued CD from the duluxe edition reissue and making it a stand alone album, Fleetwood Mac will once again bust out the alternative album cd from 2017's deluxe reissue of "Tango In The Night". For the very first time, these alternate tracks will make their way to vinyl for this years Record Store Day on April 21st. Warner Bros. will press 4,000 copies of the vinyl for the US and 8,500 in total worldwide.

“Most of these songs were written between 1969 and 1987. One was written in 1994 and one in 1995. I included them because they seemed to belong to this special group. Each song is a lifetime. Each song has a soul. Each song has a purpose. Each song is a love story… They represent my life behind the scenes, the secrets, the broken hearts, the broken hearted and the survivors. These songs are the memories - the 24 karat gold rings in the blue box. These songs are for you,” commented Nicks.

Order '24 Karat Gold - Songs From The Vault

FLEETWOOD MAC 'TANGO IN THE NIGHT'

REMASTERED AND EXPANDED

(RELEASED MARCH 31, 2017)

Featuring the hits “Little Lies,” “Everywhere,” “Seven Wonders” and “Big Love,” this 30th anniversary collection is available in Deluxe- 1LP/3CD/1DVD, Expanded - 2CD, 1CD Remaster and Digital Download and on all streaming services.

MERCHANDISE

NEW ALBUM IN THE WORKS
Christine was a guest on the Ken Bruce radio program on BBC Radio 2 and was featured each morning between Oct 7th and 11th choosing the "Tracks of My Years". Each day included a short interview clip with Christine along with her track choice and why. During the last day Christine revealed that she's currently working on new material and hopefully a forthcoming solo album saying its a return to her musical sound of the 70's.